The tradition was introduced to North America in the winter of 1781 by Hessian soldiers stationed in the Province of Québec (1763–1791) to garrison the colony against American attack. General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel and his wife, the Baroness von Riedesel, held a Christmas party for the officers at Sorel, delighting their guests with a fir tree decorated with candles and fruits.[54]
For this guide, we gave ourselves a crash course in artificial Christmas trees. Wirecutter editor Tim Heffernan visited a fake-tree manufacturer’s New Jersey headquarters, shopped for trees at several big-box stores, and spent hours examining trees at House of Holiday—New York City’s largest holiday shop—whose owner Larry Gurino “love[s] to geek out over artificial trees.” Gurino’s deep knowledge greatly added to this guide, as did the time we spent shopping and researching the hundreds of options online. Wirecutter research editor Courtney Schley spent hours speaking with the American Christmas Tree Association, which represents artificial-tree makers, to understand the industry itself, including manufacturing processes, sales and design trends, and statistics.
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^ The story, not recounted in the vitae written in his time, appears in a BBC Devon website, "Devon Myths and Legends", and in a number of educational storybooks, including St. Boniface and the Little Fir Tree: A Story to Color by Jenny Melmoth and Val Hayward (Warrington: Alfresco Books 1999 ISBN 1-873727-15-1), The Brightest Star of All: Christmas Stories for the Family by Carrie Papa (Abingdon Press 1999 ISBN 978-0-687-64813-9) and "How Saint Boniface Kept Christmas Eve" by Mary Louise Harvey in The American Normal Readers: Fifth Book, 207-22. Silver, Burdett and Co. 1912.
If the National Tree and GE are unavailable, the Home Accents Holiday 7.5 ft. Pre-Lit Grand Fir Quick Set Artificial Christmas Tree with Supernova Color Changing Lights is a worthy alternative. It’s not as widely available—Home Accents Holiday is exclusive to Home Depot—but in most parts of the country that still means you can find one easily enough.
Please note that all tree heights indicated on our website include the tree stand. If you want the tallest Christmas tree your room will allow, we recommend buying a tree that is six inches shorter than your ceiling height to allow some clearance for a tree topper. For example, if you have a standard 8 - 9 foot ceiling, we would suggest a 7½ foot tree. Here are some more tips:
By the early 1960s, Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts had become a sensation worldwide.[2] Television producer Lee Mendelson acknowledged the strip's cultural impression and had an idea for a documentary on its success, phoning Schulz to propose the idea. Schulz, an avid baseball fan, recognized Mendelson from his documentary on ballplayer Willie Mays, A Man Named Mays, and invited him to his home in Sebastopol, California, to discuss the project.[3] Their meeting was cordial, with the plan to produce a half-hour documentary set. Mendelson wanted to feature roughly "one or two" minutes of animation, and Schulz suggested animator Bill Melendez, with whom he collaborated some years before on a spot for the Ford Motor Company.[4]
For those of you who elect to go the artificial tree, this 360 degree rotating model is your most reliable option. It’s made for artificial Christmas trees up to one-and-a-quarter inches in diameter and up to eight-and-a-half feet tall. The base even features a control box which contains two switches, one for turning on lights, and the other for rotating. So whether you’re trimming the tree, or simply showing off its full decorated state, it’s an item that’s there to help. Once done, simply switch the easy on/off button to put it to rest for the remainder of the night!
Holiday wreaths are true signs of the season. A beautiful Christmas wreath always brightens a gorgeous home and makes guests feel at home for the holidays. Here, our editors share their ideas for how to choose and use festive Christmas wreaths to decorate your home for the holidays. Whether on your front door, windows, or inside your home, Christmas wreaths can be traditional or modern; they can be evergreen, succulent, or anything in between. For a sense of drama, you’ll see how to hang two wreaths, three wreaths, or even hang a Christmas wreath in front of a mirror. The Southern Living editors even suggest that you consider the shape of your Christmas wreath—you may want to choose an unusual shape. From squares to a Tree Form Wreath to one constructed from snowy pinecones, your Christmas wreaths can reflect your creativity and inspiration. Simply think of the splendor of the holiday, and let your Christmas wreath reflect the joy in your heart.

A little pricey, but you won’t find a stand that’s easier to use—and that includes when you’re stuck putting the tree up by yourself. Unlike most stands, which require you to screw in three or four long threaded bolts, the Krinner has a simple foot pedal. Pump it up and down and five claws slowly close in on and grip your tree. All you have to do is hold it up straight. The XXL fits trees up to 12 feet tall with trunk diameters up to seven inches. That might be overkill for most families, but you’d much rather have a stand that’s too big than come home to find out that your tree won’t fit. There’s a convenient water level indicator, too.

The pint-sized Home Accents Holiday – 5 Foot Pine with Clear Lights comes pre-trimmed with clear lights. It arrives in two pieces that you slide together. Then you fluff it, plug it in and it’s ready for ornaments. Most reviewers shared that this entire process took them less than an hour. This little tree is compact and festive, especially for the sub- $50 dollar price point. One big negative? The bulbs are incandescent. However, there are a good amount of them for such a small tree, and we found that they cast a nice warm glow when we examined this tree in person.

We offer artificial trees in a wide variety of shapes, from traditional full-width trees to space-saving slim trees and flatbacks. When choosing your tree, we suggest that you consider the diameter (in the Shape description, this might be described as Full 40") of the Christmas tree to help you choose the perfect tree for your space. This measurement is taken at the very widest point of the tree. If you plan to have a few branches touching a wall or a piece of furniture, the true space occupied by the tree will be about six inches less than the stated diameter.

Wirecutter senior editor Erica Ogg’s parents, Steve and Debi Ogg, tested the Krinner for a year and they reported that it was “probably the best Christmas tree stand we’ve owned.” Steve was especially impressed with the easy setup, saying, “I’ve never been able to set up a Christmas tree by myself. I’ve always had to have someone else hold it up, while I’m down there [trying to screw in bolts].” With the Krinner, “I could hold it in and use the foot ratchet thing, didn’t need anyone else.”

“This product does what it says it will do. The screw-in braces are very easy to use, and held an eight-foot tree without any problems whatsoever. I’m sure it would be fine with a ten-footer. I got another one for my parents-in-law, after I used their ancient tree stand, which took me an HOUR to get set up right! This stand should take no more than ten minutes to get your tree up and stabilized. Merry Christmas!”
Alternatively, it is identified with the "tree of paradise" of medieval mystery plays that were given on 24 December, the commemoration and name day of Adam and Eve in various countries. In such plays, a tree decorated with apples (to represent the forbidden fruit) and wafers (to represent the Eucharist and redemption) was used as a setting for the play. Like the Christmas crib, the Paradise tree was later placed in homes. The apples were replaced by round objects such as shiny red balls.[10][11][17][18][19][20]